The shows, as always, passed in a blur, with Lucy commenting on how intense Claire had made the schedule. "It's just a house show, it doesn't matter." Claire now understood why Zane had been so keen to initiate a change. The girls had collaborated on the reports and Claire showed Lucy the trends she'd seen on Snapchat the previous week. "Far out, you care too much, girl," Lucy had laughed. As the staff had boarded the bus bound for RAW, Claire had reiterated the importance of Lucy's silence. "Tell me ," Lucy began. "Are you gonna see him tonight? After the show?" Claire assumed so; she didn't know if Eden would ask them to join their group again, or if Lucy expected the staff to go out together. "Probably in some way," Claire replied. "I kinda left him hanging last week so I think he deserves a better response." Lucy's concern was visible in her face, but to her credit, and Claire's appreciation, she kept her mouth shut.
Following the planning meeting, where Zane stressed the importance of cementing storylines ahead of the weekend's Pay-Per-View, Claire set about her allocations for the night. Lucy shot her a sly look when Zane said she had been allocated to Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and the Usos in their combined storyline tonight. Claire tried to remain neutral, but a small smirk escaped her lips. She had a few pre-shots the team wanted of all the guys together, as well as individual post-shots. Claire wrangled the Usos and Roman together, and they found Ambrose in catering. The pair had exchanged a few text messages earlier in the day, but this was the first time they had seen each other since last Tuesday night. Claire felt her spirits lift when he smiled at her. "Come on crazy, we need you," she'd said in the catering room, trying to keep her voice level, her approach professional but friendly. Ambrose took another hurried mouthful of his food, got to his feet and made his way towards her. "Isn't this convenient?" he whispered as he passed, and fell in behind Roman as they walked up the hallway.
The group set up in a dressing room, with Claire explaining what creative had requested. "Basically, the Authority is trying to screw you guys over again, and you all know it's going to happen somehow, but not how, just yet. So, I'm thinking, Joe, if you're okay with it, of having Ambrose and the Usos sitting here, and you, standing, with the belt over your shoulder, given some sort of Friday Night Lights kind of rallying cry. Us against the world type of emotion." They nodded, and Jimmy put on a voice. "Forever is about to happen in just a few minutes, boys!" They all laughed. The boys jostled with each other while they got themselves ready; Roman polished the title, the Usos finished their tapings and Ambrose wrapped the IC title around his waist. Claire didn't need to give much direction once they were in place. Roman did start talking, reciting his lines for later in the show, and his 'family' was all ears. She took a few shots from the side, one from standing high in the corner and one from behind Roman.
When she'd finished, she needed to grab a couple of shots of just the Usos, and some of Ambrose and Reigns talking strategy. Claire led Jimmy and Jey to a different corner of the dressing room and ran over the notes with them. Ambrose watched her intently. He'd bounced out of bed this morning knowing he would see her. He felt like he knew so much more about her now just from watching those dance videos. He'd seen a side of her she'd not shown here; a confidence and sexiness that wasn't as overtly obvious, but as he watched her move the guys around and dictate their poses, he recognised it was still present in the work she did day to day, if you were looking for it. "She sure knows her stuff, huh?" he heard Roman say. Ambrose snapped out of his inner monologue. "She is so much better than the guy we had on our rotation. He would hardly say a word to you, other than 'This is what is happening.' There was no consultation or anything. Claire makes it feel like you're allowed to contribute to the idea too." Ambrose nodded. He didn't know what to say that wouldn't giveaway his thoughts. Once Claire had finished with the Usos, she asked Roman and Ambrose where they thought the best setting would be for their little last-minute tactic talk. Roman suggested gorilla position, and they made their way there, trading stories of the bad weather each rotation faced over the weekend. Ambrose asked if Claire had managed to fit in a run over the weekend, and noticed an inquisitive look on Roman's face. Claire wasn't aware of it, and said she'd hit the gym Saturday morning. Roman led the way up the stairs to the curtain and Ambrose squeezed past Claire, who looked up at him through her eye lashes and smiled. Their hands brushed innocently, so quickly no one else would have noticed, but Ambrose knew Claire had felt it by the blush on her face. He watched a small grin appear before she quelled it. Always the professional, he thought. As for him, he could feel the smile on his face and wondered how he was supposed to channel the lunatic now when his skin felt on fire. Claire directed them through the images like nothing had happened, thanked them, and excused herself to chase after Becky Lynch, who she had caught a glimpse of and needed to deal with.
Ambrose watched her until she disappeared around a corner. He and Roman were making their way back to the changing room. "Bro," Roman said to him, shaking his head slowly. "What?" Ambrose said, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "What was that?" Roman asked. Ambrose shrugged his shoulders, trying to play it cool. "Jeez man, I am not blind. You couldn't take your eyes off her." You're not wrong, bro¸ Ambrose thought to himself. He didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to tell him the whole story, as there wasn't an actual ending as yet. Claire had left things so up in the air. But he also didn't want him to think Claire was just another target. "Don't think I didn't notice that dopey grin, man. What's that all about?" Ambrose looked at him. On TV, creative really played up their friendship, but it was true that they were close. The sudden rise of the Shield had been a fantastic bonding experience, and he, Joe and Colby were still close. If anyone knew his behavioural patterns, it would be Joe. He knew he couldn't get away with not saying anything, and Joe would call him out on it. He sighed. "I dunno, man. I can't work it out. All I know is that she's good for me, and I'm no good for her."
After the show, the same group as last week headed out. This time, Ambrose has suggested a late night café known for its array of hot and cold desserts. The weather was appalling, so they didn't plan on staying long. Lucy had been buzzing to get invited out with the roster again. "Maybe you dating Ambrose is a good thing," she'd joked to Claire as they'd prepared in their hotel room. "We are not dating!" Claire had said, a little too defensively. Over dessert, the group discussed some of the craziest things they'd seen from fans on social media. They shared crazy replies, unsolicited namecalling, dodgy photographs and fan bitch fights. Ambrose didn't have much to say, so he spent his time trying not to stare at the way Claire's eyes shone each time she laughed, or the way she brushed her hair back out of her face. He felt Joe's eyes on him a couple of times, when he'd then try to concentrate on the conversation, but it would only last a minute or two before he was drawn back to Claire. They'd made eye contact a few times across the table and Claire's supressed grin was driving him crazy.
Back at the hotel, he made a point of catching Claire's eye before the group got to the elevator. She nodded at him and told the group she was going to check out the pool, and would meet Lucy upstairs. Ambrose didn't say anything, he knew they didn't expect him to tell them his plans. He was forever off doing his own thing. He started to walk in the opposite direction from Claire so they wouldn't get suspicious, and then he followed her towards the pool. They sat on a wooden bench at one end of the pool, Claire turning to him with a grin on her face. "Hey," she said warmly. "Hey," he returned, recognising this was the first time they'd been alone together all day. There was a comfortable silence for a while. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but Ambrose stopped her. "I don't know what you're about to say, but I want you to know that I'm not expecting anything. In fact, if you don't even want to talk about stuff, then we don't have to." Actually, he really hoped she had some sort of development from last week's rooftop chat, but he wasn't exactly expecting her to jump him. She had important things to consider, he knew that.
Claire appreciated that acknowledgement. She didn't know if she was going to make the situation any clearer for him or not. She'd been beating herself up about what she was going to say tonight. She wasn't sure if it would be sufficient. "I do actually need to get it off my chest," she said, watching him tense up. Poor guy, he is probably fearing all this emotional stuff. "I can't say I've made any definitive decisions in the last week, Jon, but I have done a lot of thinking. In fact, too much thinking. I've over analysed and hypothesised so much my brain hurts. The only time my brain stopped hurting was when I saw you this afternoon." He tried to supress a smile, and Claire chuckled softly. "That was pretty cheesy. But, it's the truth. And what I said in my text on Wednesday was true, you were on my mind all day. So, I don't think I can deny that there's something there." Ambrose's grin grew wider. "But, my heart is weary, you need to know that. And part of the overthinking I did over the weekend was around if that trepidation was because of your past, or because of my career. And I think it's more about me than you. I'm sure everyone on the outside will see me as just another girl in your line up, but I'm not so worried about that. I believe you when you say this is different for you. Whether that makes me foolish, we'll come to see that. But I'm mainly concerned that this needs to be real; that's what I need to be certain of. That if I'm going to risk the goals I had for my career, I need to know it's going to be worth it." She looked Ambrose in the eye; he looked serious, and nodded his head. "I get that, and I do think a lot of it has to do with my past. You're just being polite. But I know that, and that's why I said I'm going to prove it to you. I just need you to let me." Claire sighed. Was she ready to let him? He certainly was saying all the right things, and again, he'd not done anything to make her think otherwise. She nodded softly. "Yeah, I will. I mean, I don't know exactly how you're going to go around proving it, but I'm willing to see what comes of this." They shared a small grin with each other, and this time, it was Claire who extended her hand out for his. Without hesitation, he grabbed her hand and wrapped his fingers through hers, and brought his other hand to cover it. Claire exhaled. It felt as good as she remembered, but this time, there was an added sense of security. She felt safe, like a weight had lifted from her. "I can't guarantee it will be enough for you, but I can guarantee it'll be the best I've got," he said. They sat looking at the water for a while before Ambrose spoke up again. "This weekend, come to Atlanta early. Let's spend the day together before anyone else shows up. Let me take you on a proper date."